From Stitches Midwest!

Vehicle in the hotel parking lot.

Merino/Tencel

I am currently spinning some roving that I picked up at Hank of Yarn in Southaven, MS. The colorway is called "Hydrangea" and is by Abstract Fibers of Portland , Oregon. I love the color combination, but the fiber ratio is 50/50, and I'm not sure I like the way it spins.

More Ashland Bay Merino

Latest spinning project. 100% merino. Colorway is Mojave. Hope to get enough 2 ply at a nice weight to make a shawl, maybe close to a 2 ply sock weight. I'm almost half way through the top, which I split evenly into 2 oz. pieces. Throughout drafting the fiber, I have tried to be careful to NOT run my finger from the orafice to the drafting zone, hoping that the resulting yarn will be a little more airy than a regular worsted spun yarn..  The main challenge that I am having at this time is that some spots on the current single are lace thin and not spun tightly enough to hold together.  I've experienced breakage of the single, especially when trying to join another piece of top, more so than ever before. It has been very frustrating.  I think the answer is that I need to go ahead and order a lace bobbin that will have a higher ratio for spinning than my current regular bobbins that came with my Louet S10.  I'm thinking my next payday is the time.  Should improve the second half of singles that will be plied with the one already almost finished. At least I hope so.

Until later, keep knitting, spinning or whatever your passion!

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Morning Surf Scarf

I'm using my handspun yarn, spun from Roan Mtn Morning by Ms Babs Fibers, to knit a pattern called the Morning Surf Scarf by JackieErickson-Schweitzer. I love the way the yarn is striping! More later...

Improvising

There are no little one year old children around here now, and I needed a way to show off my latest finished project. So I improvised.  Mr. Bunn was a willing model, and here is the result.  This baby's beret was knit by combining two different patterns.  So does that make it my creation?. Feels like it!  It was knit with a superwash wool and nylon sock yarn, the name of which eludes me because I lost the skein band.  My receipt for the yarn is no help, unfortunately. 

Now I'm working on a shawl pattern by Brenda Patipa that I bought at Stitches South last month.  I'll post a picture when it is done.

Until then, keep knitting, or spinning, or whatever your passion!

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The Beginning Singles

Here's the beginning of the Roan Mtn Morning singles. I just had to spin a little bit more when I got home from work today!  At first it seemed a little harder to spin than the 100% merino that I did, but I think I've gotten a feel for it.  So far, I'm happy with the result.  I'm trying to consistently spin small singles,  in hopes of a almost sock size 2 ply yarn.  We'll see..

Until later, happy knitting or spinning, or whatever your passion.

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A Pretty Merino/Bamboo/Silk Blend

I finished all the pink Ashland Bay merino top, finally! I posted a picture on Twitter and FB of the skein hanging to dry. I think I was able to get about 250 yards of 2 ply that can be knit with a size 6 or 7 needles. I'll have to come up with a project.

This is my newest spinning project.  It is a merino/bamboo/Tussah silk top in the colorway Roan Mtn Morning from Miss Babs Hand-dyed Yarns & Fibers, and I purchased it at Stitches South.  Her website can be found at www.missbabs.com.  I'm a little nervous to spin this because this is the first merino/bamboo/silk blend that I've tried to spin. It has large repeats of color which I would love to keep in the final yarn. May have to Navajo ply it.  I would like to get a nice 2 ply I can knit into a shawl.  I'll keep you posted!

Until later, keep knitting, spinning, or whatever your passion,
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Plied Yarn Gets Smaller

 I started out just wanting to make a small sample to see if what I had spun was getting closer to the size I'm hoping be able to spin. But once I got started I couldn't stop until had I plied the whole bobbin, which is ok because I was going to three ply the last three bobbins of  this fiber together anyway. This exercise in Navajo plying took place yesterday, and I think the plying turned out nice, but, of course, the yardage is low, only approximately 68 yards.  All in all, I'm happy with the progress.  I think that I will 2-ply the next two bobbins of singles from this fiber, which will be the last of the Hollyberry that Mary gave me. Hopefully I get at least a couple of hundred yards from it. It does look thinner than the singles used for this skein.  So we'll see.

Btw, the color in this picture isn't very good. See a couple of posts  back (4/29/10)  for a picture with more accurate color.

Until next time, happy knitting, spinning, or whatever your passion!

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First Navajo Plied Skein

This yarn was spun from 2 colors of merino so that I could learn to Navajo ply.  All the training I've had has been a Interweave video by Sarah Anderson, which is available on Youtube.  Just do a search for Navajo Plying, and it is among the ones that come up.  Ok, so it turned out bumpy and uneven, and sometimes (ok A LOT of the time!!) got away from me with the twist, but I think I am beginning to get a feel for it.  Definitely need more practice,practice, practice!!  Can tell it is over plied, but for a first it is not so bad. (I'm a little partial and a little proud!) It was fun to try, and I did get to a point of just relaxing with in  rhythm with my wheel and the twisting of the yarn.  I like the result (or at least what I can tell the result is supposed to be!), which is a nice round 3 ply yarn as opposed to a flat yarn which results from a 2 ply.  Again, I feel like I have learned something and have enjoyed the process.

Until next time, happy knitting or spinning or whatever your passion!!

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Merino blend from New Mexico

This is the first batch I've spun from the top my friend brought to me from New Mexico.  I plied it Monday night after work. I think the yarn measures between 140 and 150 yards, but at this time my DH is making a Niddy Noddy for me using the directions posted by mamas2hands at http://mamas2hands.wordpress.com . It is made from parts of PVC pipe so it is light weight and can be taken apart for travel, if needed.

I will begin spinning the second half of the merino top used for this yarn this weekend because I bought some really nice bamboo/silk/merino blend at Stitches South that I want to get to soon.  

Until the next time, happy knitting, spinning, or whatever your passion!

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Southwest Merino Roving

I am hoping some of the pretty colors in the roving show up in this picture. My sweet friend, Mary, purchased this roving while she was on a trip to New Mexico last month. She brought it home and gave it to me to practice on! I can tell you, it is pure pleasure to spin! I enjoy the feel of the fiber as it slides through my hands; it is so soft and drafts so nicely, even for a novice like me. It makes me feel much more confident in my spinning. And while I am spinning it, I am thinking about the friendship that has spun between me and Mary, and what an encourager she has become to me. The mixture of the fiber and the pleasant thoughts make a very pleasant and relaxing afternoon!

Until next time when I hope to have a nice 2 ply yarn from this roving to show to you, happy knitting or spinning or whatever your passion!

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To Pre-Draft or Not

This is my first attempt to spin without mega pre-drafting the roving. I must say it is not as difficult as I thought it would be, at least with this fiber. The roving is a 30% kidmohair, 70% merino, and I think that a 100% merino might be a little more difficult, as it seems to be much tougher, or stickier, I guess would be more the term.  I purchased this roving from my LYS and although she told me, I don't remember the vendor she bought it, as there is not a tag anywhere in my package. I already have one bobbin full.  After this second bobbin is filled, I'll be plying it and will post the resulting yarn.  Until then..

Happy knitting or spinning or whatever your passion!

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Multicolored Roving +

I spun this over this weekend. It is the same multicolored Kid mohair/merino (looks brown here) as in the last post plied with a red roving that I think is a plain merino, but I'm not sure. There was no label on the red.  Again, both were purchased at my LYS.  I got approximately 100 yards after plying 2 oz of the multi with 2 oz of the red merino. Excited!!

Until next time, happy spinning, knitting, or whatever your passion is!

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Spinning: My New Form of Relaxation

Since my last posting  I've been learning to spin. There is so much to learn, so many new terms and techniques!  But I'm thinking it's like anything else new: just jump in and figure it out as you go.  So I rented a Louet S10 DT spinning wheel from my LYS, took a spinning lesson from my LYS owner, Bridgett, watched a lot of YouTube videos, and spun, spun, spun... Most of the results were not very pretty, thus no pictures, but I could see improvement with each new bobbin full of singles.   I am encouraged to continue.

I wasn't sure I would, but I think I really like the process this involves.  Here is a picture of the first skein I was able to spin from some Dark Coopworth carded roving and a small sample that I knit from it.  I can't believe how soft it is.  I wish I had more (Oh, maybe I'll just make some!)

Next I spun two more bobbins, one with the about 3.6 oz of the Dark Coopworth carded roving and one with about 2 oz of a multicolored kid mohair/merino blend of top, intending to ply them together afterward.  I didn't know if this was a good combination of wools or not but I didn't pay much for either so I didn't have anything to lose and experience to gain. Here is a picture of the fibers:

After the spinning was done, I watched a lot of YouTube videos (names of which I can't remember right now) and just jumped in to give plying a try.  After plying the two singles together, I wrapped them around the back of one of my straight back chairs to skein it up. I measured across the back of my chair and calculated that I have about 55 yards of yarn. I then soaked the skein for 15 minutes in a lukewarm water, squeezed the water out, and rolled it up in a towel to dry it further; then I hung it up to dry.  The result is to the right.  The color in the picture isn't very good but I'm still pretty excited about the end product. Maybe next time, I'll have something really pretty to show off.
Until then...happy knitting or spinning or whatever your passion may be!
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Sage Gloves, Slightly Altered

Here is one of several projects that I've worked on since my last
post. Hope to catch up on the year's postings this weekend.
Until then ..
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Relaxing project

Working on the Fuji Manicure Socks from "Knitted Socks East And West"
by Judy Sumner. The element of lace in the ribbing adds interest and
doesn't seem to hinder the stretch, like I thought it might.
Later...
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